Opinion | Hong Kong’s honours system must be recognised as a colonial legacy in disguise
- Although British chivalric orders have given way to Hong Kong’s own honours, the system remains a problematic symbol of inequality and social divisiveness, and needs to be revamped
While acknowledging contributions to society is a noble gesture in itself, is it appropriate to do so under a system which, by its very nature, is out of kilter with the values of modern Hong Kong society?
Prior to the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, honours were awarded by the queen under the British orders of chivalry, most commonly the Order of the British Empire, the grades of which are still discernible in the structure of Hong Kong’s current honours system.
For instance, in place of the Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GBE), one is now awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM). Although British chivalric orders have since given way to Hong Kong’s own orders, such as the Order of the Grand Bauhinia, the honours system remains a problematic symbol of inequality and social divisiveness.
In the days of empire, the queen’s honours were not merely an elitist and anachronistic aesthetic of empire, which colonial subjects wore in deference to the Crown. The honours system was used as a political device to strengthen imperial administration across the realm. It was a means by which Britain secured the allegiance of the local ruling class with a view to mobilising them to maintain stability among colonial subjects.
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